


How To Kidnap Your Boyfriend (And Other Stories Of An Accidental Bounty Hunter)

by SatiricalDraperies



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Banter, Bounty Hunter Leia Organa, F/M, Flirting, Implied Sexual Content, Leia Organa-centric, M/M, Mistaken Identity, Multi, POV Boba Fett, POV Han Solo, POV Leia Organa, POV Multiple, Polyamory, Swearing, established Leia/Han
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:41:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 7,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24299038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SatiricalDraperies/pseuds/SatiricalDraperies
Summary: Is your boyfriend stuck in carbonite? Held hostage by a crime lord? Rightfully imprisoned for crimes he absolutely did commit? Well, have I got the guide for you! Find out how to stage a rescue, seduce a bounty hunter, and save the galaxy while you're at it.(or, the alternate timeline where Boba Fett helps Leia rescue Han from Jabba's palace)
Relationships: Boba Fett/Han Solo, Boba Fett/Leia Organa, Boba Fett/Leia Organa/Han Solo, Leia Organa/Han Solo
Comments: 27
Kudos: 104
Collections: Banned Together Bingo 2020





	1. Step One - Whatever You Do, Don’t Get Caught

In theory, this should be easy. The manuals made it look so simple! There aren’t that many buttons, and it’s not like Han could die if she messes this up.

_Fuck._

Leia’s hands are halfway to taking off her helmet (like improving her vision will improve her memory, what is she thinking?) when she hears someone moving in the shadows. She really doesn’t have the time to get caught right now. Whoever—whatever—it is, they better just be passing by, for her sake and theirs. She draws her blaster and points it towards the noise.

A figure slowly steps out, hands raised. Humanoid, by the looks of their silhouette. At least it’s not Jabba. Leia doesn’t even want to think about what he’d do to her if he found her stealing his most prized possession.

“It’d be faster to take the whole thing,” Boba Fett says.

Leia doesn’t lower her blaster. She’s a good shot, but there’s no guarantee she’d even be able to stagger Fett through his Mandalorian armor. Besides, he’s not posing a direct threat yet.

Yet.

Fett walks over to her, hands still in the air. He nods towards Han’s frozen body in a silent question. _May I?_

It’s not like Leia has a better plan. She moves out of the way as Fett kneels down by the control panel. As he tinkers, she thinks about how to get the others out without alerting Fett. It would take more spare credits than the Rebellion has laying around to buy him off. She can’t just comm Lando either, not without Fett hearing and turning on her. Their alliance, tenuous and temporary as it may be, isn’t something Leia can afford to end just yet. And then there’s the matter of the droids. 

The droids!

Leia’s willing to bet that Jabba has kept C-3PO at his station by the exit. If she can get a message to him on the way out, he’ll be able to pass it along to the others. It’s not her best plan, but it will do.

The carbonite slab lets out a hiss of steam as it’s released from the bindings. It falls forward to float horizontally a few feet above the ground and Leia reaches out to run a gloved hand over Han’s frozen face before remembering Fett. She’s putting an awful lot of trust in him to not tell Jabba about their escape, or at least wait to tell him and give them a head start. 

Then she looks up at Fett, standing on the other side of Han, arms crossed over his chest. He gives her a nod and she makes the executive decision to trust him. Han would be laughing if he could see her right now, but he’s in no position to judge.

C-3PO is standing exactly where Leia assumed he would be. She comes up from behind, throwing a hand over his mouth (mouth? is it really a mouth? and if not, what?) and shoving her blaster under his chin. She counts _one, two, three,_ and the muffled sounds turn from a plea for help to a resigned acceptance of his fate. 

“Threepio,” she hisses through her mask once he's quieted down. “It’s Leia. I’m getting Han out of here. I need you to tell Lando and the others to do the same. Meet up back at my ship. And be quiet about it!”

She pushes the carbonite slab ahead of her and walks out the front door of Jabba’s palace, not bothering to look back.


	2. Step Two - Find A Way Off This Damn Rock

Leia’s ship is docked in Mos Eisley proper, far enough away that she took a speeder over to Jabba’s palace. She attaches Han’s carbonite slab to the back and sets off into the sands away from Jabba, away from her friends, away from Fett.

It’s still dark out by the time she reaches the settlement. Taking an indirect route may have cost her time, but if she’s thrown any potential pursuers off her trail, it’s worth it. It doesn’t look like she was followed, thank goodness, so she abandons the speeder at the edge of town. Tossing a tarp over Han, she could be anyone transporting goods in the early hours before the suns get too hot to bear.

A blast rings out.

Is it possible that it was completely unrelated to the escape of several of Jabba’s highest value prisoners? Yes. Is it at all likely? Absolutely not.

At least they got out, right? It’s a small consolation for the situation they’re in right now.

Leia runs to the edge of the shipyard and ducks behind some crates. From her vantage point she can see Lando blasting at some of Jabba’s men. The Hutt himself doesn’t seem to be here, but he’s sent plenty of bounty hunters to do his dirty work.

Is Fett among them?

Leia has no idea, and she doesn’t want to stick around to find out. Lando’s disappeared within the ship, probably preparing to take off, and Chewie is holding off Jabba’s fighters with his crossbow. The droids are heading up the ramp right now, C-3PO grumbling about who knows what and R2 yelling at him to hurry it up. She draws her blaster and gets ready to run across the shipyard to join them.

She doesn’t get very far. A heavy hand on her shoulder stops her from running out into the blaster fire. Leia whirls around, aiming her blaster right at the center of Fett’s chest piece.

“We have got to stop meeting like this,” she says. 

Fett grunts. “My ship’s this way.”

He starts walking towards the back of the ship yard. Leia starts to follow him but stops herself before they get too far. What is she thinking? Still, if Fett is actually willing to help her and Han get off Tatooine, she can always rendez-vous with Lando later.

“Why should I trust you?”

“I’m not trying to kill you right now.”

Leia looks back at the shootout. Lando has her ship hovering in the air, ready to fly away. He’s waiting for her, but some of the men on the ground are setting up a nasty cannon he won’t be able to withstand for long. He has to leave now, with or without Leia and Han, and he knows it. The ship lifts off and flies away towards the binary suns, just starting to peek above the horizon. 

That seals the deal. Leia grabs Han and gestures for Fett to lead the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we should have one more short chapter and then get into the fun stuff ;)


	3. Step Three - Ask No Questions, Tell No Lies

Sure, it’s a little awkward being stuck on a ship with the guy who helped Darth Vader capture you and your friends, but at least he has no idea who you are. That makes it better, right?

Leia sighs. How the fuck is she going to get out of this one?

Fett has been surprisingly cooperative. He helped her secure Han at the back of the ship, pointed her towards the fresher, then left her to it while he piloted the ship out of Tatooine’s orbit.

“Where to?”

Leia doesn’t jump at the sudden intrusion—that would be undignified. Still, she’s more than a little annoyed at Fett’s uncanny ability to sneak up behind her. 

“Canto Bight, if that’s not too far out of your way.” She figures the casino is a neutral enough zone that Fett won’t notice anything suspicious. There are plenty of bounty hunters coming and going so she should disappear into the crowd as soon as they arrive, and it will be fairly easy for Lando to slip in and pick up her and Han before anyone gives them a second glance.

“I’ll plug in the coordinates.”

And then Fett’s gone again, leaving Leia sitting by herself, looking at Han’s agonized face and hoping that all of this will be worth it.

“Han Solo.” Fett says his name like a question, coming down from the cockpit to sit across from Leia once they’ve made the jump to hyperspace. “What is he to you?”

Leia doesn’t know how to answer, doesn’t know what lie to tell to satisfy Fett and fix the situation. But if she’s being honest, she doesn’t really know the truth, either. She loves him, that much is certain, but she doesn’t know what to do with that love. Sometimes she wants to slap that smirk of his right off his face. Sometimes she wants to push him up against a wall for a _very_ different reason. But sometimes she just wants to hold him, and be held in turn, because he feels safe and solid like a harbor against the constant tides of war.

She can’t say a word of this to Fett, of course (what can she say to Fett?), so she just shrugs.

“I owed it to him.” It’s not a lie, not really, so Leia doesn’t feel bad about the lack of elaboration. If their positions were swapped, she doubts Fett would be any more talkative.

“It must have been a large debt,” he says. “For you to threaten Jabba and ruin his reputation so completely.”

He places a hologram on the table between them. Someone must have been recording her pulling the thermal grenade in Jabba’s palace, because a video loop of her is playing on repeat. She reaches into her pocket, pulls out the grenade, holds it up for everyone to see—and then her image resets. Underneath the video, Jabba is offering four million credits for her arrest. Five million if she’s delivered alive and unharmed.

“I suppose it’s too late to negotiate a counter offer?” Leia’s blaster hand is itching, but she figures she owes diplomacy the first shot. Still, it will be nearly impossible to talk Fett out of five million credits, plus whatever Jabba will give him for Han. Knowing Jabba, it will probably be as much, if not even more, than what he’s paying for her.

“No need,” Fett says. 

_Shit._ He’s been playing her this whole time, and now she’s stuck on his ship deep in hyperspace with no way for her and Han to get out of it this time. She closes her eyes underneath the helmet and tries to come to terms with her failure.

“It was time someone took that slimy bastard down a peg,” Fett gives her a nod that she can only interpret as respect.

Well then. Leia’s certainly not complaining at this turn of events.

“Fett,” she says, surprising herself more than anyone. He’s already halfway up the ladder to the cockpit, but he stops and turns around to face her. “Thank you.”

She can’t see under his helmet, but she could swear she feels him smile at that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments >>>
> 
> (also, no spoilers but Han's actually awake in the next chapter! so let's all get excited for that)


	4. Step Four - Blow Your Boyfriend, Not Your Cover

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there aren't any blowjobs in this chapter (sorry) I just thought the title would be funny lol

“What’s your plan for the blindness?”

“What blindness?” 

“Carbonite side effects,” Fett says, like it should be obvious. “He won’t be seeing normally for at least three or four hours.”

“Shit.” Why did no one tell her anything useful about carbonite before sending her on this mission? You’d think that someone would mention a major side effect like loss of vision to her, but apparently not. 

She can work with this. She’ll have to.

“We’re still a few hours out. Do you trust him not to destroy my ship?”

It only takes Leia a second to realize what Fett is offering her. She’s growing to expect the unexpected from him. 

“I trust him,” she says, although she’s a little unsure of Han’s reaction to her disguise. He won’t have any idea who she is until they’re able to get away from Fett and she can reveal herself. Until then, he will hopefully be grateful to the bounty hunters for rescuing him, but Leia knows Han too well to guarantee that. It’s equally likely that he will shoot first and ask questions later, even if he’s blind and stuck on an unfamiliar ship.

 _Especially_ if he’s blind and stuck on an unfamiliar ship.

Leia is having second doubts about this whole thing (she would rather take her chances as herself with a blind Han on the surface than staying under cover up here with Fett) but Fett has already pulled the carbonite slab loose and is preparing to unfreeze Han.

“Stay by his head and hold him down,” Fett orders. “He’ll be confused at first and might try to fight us. I’ll run the unfreezing process.”

She knows he’s only doing this to save her the embarrassment of forgetting the carbonite controls again, but even if she will never admit it, she’s thankful for his help. Besides, she would rather be the one to calm down Han instead of letting Fett manhandle him while he comes to his senses. Leia can only imagine how poorly that would go over.

Fett’s fingers move expertly (does he do this often?) over the controls and the carbonite lets out a hiss of steam. Leia is shocked at how dextrous he is even with the gloves on. 

(How skilled is he with them off?)

And then Han’s face starts to emerge and all thoughts of Fett fly out of her mind. The carbonite emits a bright white glow as it unfreezes but Leia won’t look away. When the process is finally over, Han lets out a sigh and falls off the slab into her arms. 

“Han,” she whispers, cupping his cheek in her palm.

“What’s going on?” Han reaches out and runs his hands over her arms, her chest, her helmet. “Who the hell are you?”

“You’re safe,” she says, gripping his forearms in a less tender way than how she was touching his face. “We got you away from Jabba.”

“We?” he pulls back, wrenches his arms free. “I can’t see a thing! How many of you are there?”

He’s handling this whole thing surprisingly well, all things considered.

“Just the two of us,” she assures. “Oh, and him.” Leia nods her head towards Fett before remembering that Han can’t see either one of them. “Just the three of us.”

“One against two, then.” Han smirks. “I like those odds.”

“Of course you would,” she mutters, shaking her head. It’s good to see that even with the aftereffects of the carbonite, Han’s still acting like himself.

“We should be landing in an hour or two. Try and get some rest. You’re still recovering from the carbonite.” Leia takes Han’s arm and guides him around the ship towards the bunks, setting him down.

“Do I know you?” Han squints at her, rubbing his eyes like that will make his vision come back faster.

“I’m a friend,” she says. “Don’t worry. I’ll explain it all once we’ve landed. Until then, you’re safe.” She adds the unspoken: _and that’s all that really matters._

“Alright,” Han says. “But I’m holding you to that!” He tries to point at her, but clearly he still has a while before the carbonite wears off.

Leia laughs and heads up to the cockpit to talk with Fett. He doesn’t acknowledge her entrance or look up from the controls for even a moment before he speaks.

“How is he?”

“As well as can be expected, I suppose.”

“Good.”

And that should be the end of the conversation, shouldn’t it? But Leia stays.

“We’ll be gone once we land,” she says. “Won’t be any more of a bother.”

“You’re not,” Fett says, and if Leia hadn’t heard it with her own ears (fine, her helmet’s noise receptors) she wouldn’t have believed it. Fett, being nice? He must be playing a long con to cash in on bounties for both her and Han, unless… 

“Why didn’t you sell us out on Tatooine? Why go to all this trouble?”

“I’m not selling you to Jabba.”

“Then who?” 

“No one,” and now he finally turns around to face her, though his helmet remains as emotionless as ever. “I’m not selling you out. I’m not turning you in. I— You interest me. You aren’t afraid of anything. You take risks without even thinking, just to do what needs to be done. I may not understand who he is to you, but I would not want to get in your way. You’re different from every other bounty hunter. I respect that.”

Leia wants to retort _that’s because I’m not a bounty hunter at all_ but she bites her tongue. This is already the most that Fett’s ever said to her, the most personal he’s ever been with her. How is she supposed to respond to this? _I hated you at first and only worked with you out of necessity, but now your ship feels comfortable and it’s weird to look around and not see your helmet and even though we’ve barely spent a day together I still think I might miss you when I leave?_

She can’t say that. 

“Where I am, you will always be welcome.” Leia isn’t asking him to join the Rebellion (he will never know she is with the Rebellion) but she means what she says, and she hopes that he knows that.


	5. Step Five - Take Them To Dinner First (Shitty Motel Second)

The other bounty hunter is true to their word; they’re gone with Han Solo almost immediately upon landing. Boba doesn’t even get a chance to say goodbye (what would he even say?) but that’s probably for the best. This is a lonely way of life out of necessity. Your skill as a bounty hunter hinges on your capability to track anything, your willingness to make anyone your prey, and your ability to stay detached no matter what. 

Staying detached—now that’s something that the other bounty hunter struggles with. Not that they’re really a bounty hunter. Boba has known for a while now. Hunters with personal agendas beyond personal gain don’t stay hunters for long. This (not) bounty hunter is resourceful, alarmingly so, given how little they seem to know or care about their supposed profession. Anyone worth their salt knows carbonite is the best way to move dangerous bounties: if you’re dealing with someone dangerous enough to deserve carbonite, you better be able to get them in and out fast or you’ll soon be finding out just how dangerous they are. 

And it’s not just their unfamiliarity with carbonite. For every crime lord like Jabba who was amused by the heat grenade, there are ten others who wouldn’t hesitate to dispose of anyone who would pull a stunt like that. There’s daring—and then there’s reckless.

Boba doesn’t know if Han Solo is really worth that kind of risk or if they knew Jabba would take the grenade well enough. Either way, it’s impressive. 

Especially for someone who isn’t a bounty hunter.

* * *

“Am I ever going to get to see that pretty face of yours?”

Han’s flirting again—it’s a coping mechanism. And besides, he’s gotten out of more than a few sticky situations this way. Admittedly, sometimes it’s thrown him into even stickier ones, but at least now he knows not to try anything with a Tarc.

“So you think I’m pretty?”

If they weren’t wearing that helmet, Han’s sure they would be smirking at him right now.

“Yeah,” he says, charm oozing out of his smile. They’re alone in some seedy hole in the wall and even though Han thinks he could probably fight his way out, he would much prefer to settle this peacefully. He has Leia (and the Rebellion, but mostly Leia and Luke) to get back to and he knows the princess won’t like it if he escapes Jabba just to get blasted by someone else.

“I suppose you aren’t as nerf-brained as you look, then.”

Han wants to protest _hey! I’m plenty intelligent_ but then they’re finally taking off their helmet and for once in his life Han doesn’t have anything to say except:

“Leia!”

He kisses her like he needs her to breathe (and maybe he does) and they melt into each other, Leia’s arms holding him like he’ll disappear if she lets go (and maybe he will).

* * *

There’s a note and a pile of credits waiting for Boba by the ship’s exit ramp.

_For your trouble. —L_

It _wasn’t_ any trouble. _L_ wasn’t any trouble. 

Still, he’s not complaining about the credits. He’s been putting off some minor repairs for far too long now, things that he can’t do easily by himself. Here’s his chance to fix the ship up a bit. And if he has other reasons for staying, reasons that start with the letter L, well, no one needs to know about those.

It doesn’t stop him from asking the mechanic about a masked bounty hunter and a man in a vest.

“Yeah, they were heading to the D’Anke, last I heard,” the mechanic shrugs. “Do you want the nav computer cleaned up as well?”

“Just do your job,” he snarls. Damn hustlers. Like he doesn’t know how to take care of his own nav computer. “Where is this D’Anke?”

“Down the street a bit, on the left. Nasty place, if you ask me.” Boba didn’t ask. “What about a fresh coat of hull paint? I’ll give you a deal.”

“Never mind,” he says, taking all of L’s credits back. “I’ll get it fixed later.”

* * *

There’s a knock at the door.

“Fuck,” Leia says, pulling her helmet back on. There’s a strand of hair sticking out that Han twirls around his finger, just because he can. “Stop that,” she says, pushing his hand away. “It’s Boba.”

“Boba Fett?” At this point, Han shouldn’t be surprised by anything anymore, but it’s still a bit of a shock when Leia actually opens the door to the Mandalorian.

“Fett,” she says. “The hell are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same. This place is a shithole.”

“You think I don’t know?”

“I think you could stay somewhere nicer if you had these.” He takes hold of both of Leia’s hands and pours a pile of credits in them.

“Those were for you,” Leia says, but she doesn’t move her hands from Fett’s. _Interesting,_ Han thinks.

“Then I’m giving them back.”

“It’s rude to return a gift.”

“I thought this was a payment,” Fett says. “In which case, I’m gifting them to you.” Han’s beginning to understand what Leia sees in the man. 

“Why are you here, Fett?” The helmet masks her voice, but Han knows her well enough to hear the exasperation. It’s a sound he’s certainly heard plenty of.

“There’s a nicer place a few streets away from here. If you won’t take your credits back, at least let me use them to rent you a room.”

“I have Han now,” she reminds Fett. “You don’t have to help me anymore.”

Han doesn’t want to give her away—she’s clearly in disguise—but doesn’t she realize that she can have both Han and Fett? If Leia won’t accept his offer, Han will.

“Dinner first,” he says, grinning at Fett. “Have some class.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boba _and_ Han POV? now we're talking ;)


	6. Step Six - A Little Honesty Never Hurt Anyone

She can’t believe they’re actually going out to dinner, like normal people would. Not that Canto Bight’s typical visitors are _normal_ people—they are all far too wealthy for that and most, if not all, are involved in some sort of nefarious underworld dealings. Canto Bight is built on gambling and spice and arms dealers.

And yet.

Everywhere Leia looks, the people seem to be used to this freedom. They laugh and talk freely, walking arm in arm through the streets like there’s no war in the Galaxy, like they could go anywhere, do anything. They seem _happy_ and oddly enough, Leia thinks she might feel the same way. 

“You like him,” Han says, like he can read her mind and know her worries. He knows her well enough that he probably can, at this point.

“Is there any point in lying?”

“He seems nice.”

“You do remember how he sold us out and got you frozen in carbonite, right?”

“Pretty sure I should be the one reminding you, Princess.”

“Not here,” she says, gently shoving him at his use of the title. “I—”

“People do things for any number of reasons,” Han says. “No need to justify your actions or his.”

“Still,” Leia says. “It wasn’t fair to you.”

“You know what wouldn’t have been fair? Giving up a chance to get back at Jabba. If Fett— If Boba gave you a better shot at getting away, then I trust your judgement call,” Han smirks. “That Mandalorian armor is pretty nice, huh? Think he looks as good underneath it?”

Leia laughs. “I wouldn’t know.”

“But wouldn’t you like to?”

“Would you?” Her tone is dead serious.

“We’ll see how the night goes, hmm?”

“Han,” Leia grabs his arm.

“I love you,” he says. “As far as Boba Fett goes… I’m interested.”

“It’s your call,” she says as they reach the restaurant where they agreed to meet Boba. “But— I do like him.”

“Good,” Han says. “So do I.”

Boba Fett is waiting for them inside, sprawled across a booth hidden in shadows against the back wall. Han and Leia slide in across from him and, as if on cue, a droid rolls over with a tray of drinks and what Leia recognizes as Coruscanti fine cuisine. 

“Will there be anyone else dining with you tonight?” it asks.

“No,” Boba says. “Close the curtain, please.”

The droid wheels off, closing the three of them off from the rest of the restaurant with a thick velvet curtain. Han squeezes Leia’s hand under the table. She rolls her eyes a little and takes off her helmet, setting it down on the booth next to her.

“Shall we eat?” she asks.

* * *

He focuses on her hands (it’s easier than looking into her face) as she takes off her gloves. There’s nothing stopping him from removing his own helmet besides his self-doubts. Still. He likes L, trusts her, even, and so he makes the hard but inevitable decision to reach up and remove it.

Boba Fett is not used to vulnerability.

L smiles at him. He gives (at least his best approximation of a) smile back. 

“Well,” Han Solo says, looking him over appreciatively. “You certainly picked the right guy back on Tatooine.”

Boba Fett is not used to hiding his feelings.

The helmet always covered his face; the vocoder masked any fluctuations in his voice. It’s easy to stay dispassionate when you are anonymous. Easy to stay anonymous when you are dispassionate. He used up all of his anger and fury and vengeance in his youth—now he is left with the skills gained from a life spent seeking revenge but with none of the purpose. 

What is he left with?

His armor. His name. His strength.

Han Solo. L.

“Stop,” he says to Han. “You’ll make me blush.”

Boba Fett is not used to flirting, but he thinks he could be.

* * *

And Han is not used to being speechless, but here he is, being out-seduced by a man whose whole schtick involves covering his face and hardly ever speaking. He guesses that’s why it’s so effective: it’s unexpected. 

Hardly unwelcome, though.

“How did you two meet?” he asks. Leia didn’t get a chance to explain earlier (her mouth may have been preoccupied with other, more important things) and besides, he wants to hear Boba’s side of the story.

To his surprise, Leia is the one to speak.

“I rescued you. He rescued me.” She says it like it’s so straight forward but Han’s pretty sure there’s more of a story there. No matter. He can get the full tale later.

“Something like that,” Boba says, but there’s the hint of a smirk on his face.

Leia rolls her eyes. “I would have gotten him out even without your help.”

Boba raises an eyebrow.

“Not that your help wasn’t greatly appreciated,” she adds.

“Thanks,” Boba says drily.

He’s got a sarcastic streak! Han is overjoyed. Oh, this is going to be fun.

* * *

“My name is Leia,” she says. They’ve left the restaurant behind them, more than a little tipsy. Han is currently haggling with the taxi driver to take them to Boba’s hotel. Leia isn’t sure if he’s getting them a deal or a lifetime ban from the Canto Bight public transport system, but he’s certainly waving his hands around a lot.

“Leia,” Boba says thoughtfully. “It suits you.”

He’s looking at her with an expression somewhere between respect and admiration tinged with a bit of fondness. She looks up into those clever brown eyes of his and thinks: _I want to kiss him_.

So she does.

“What was that for?” he asks, smiling a little.

“I like you,” she says, and it isn’t _entirely_ the whiskey talking. 

“I like you too,” he replies, and then they’re kissing again. Leia could _definitely_ get used to this.

“Can’t you at least wait until we get to a room?” Han grumbles, his negotiations with the driver over and seemingly successful.

“You’re just jealous,” she teases, pulling herself away from Boba to kiss Han, missing his mouth and landing somewhere between his cheek and chin. 

They eventually make their way into the cab where the driver is blasting jizz loud enough to be heard from here to Naboo, and then to the hotel, which is _much_ nicer than the previous place Han and Leia found themselves at. They stumble into the elevator, and then into Boba’s room, and then it’s onto the bed. 

Still catching her breath, watching her two lovers kiss, Leia can’t help but feel that they aren’t so different after all. Their lives have all led them here somehow, and if someone had told her a year ago that she’d be in love with a smooth talking smuggler and, well, feeling _something_ for a Mandalorian bounty hunter, she would have said they were out of their mind. 

Then again, that’s what she would have said about finding a Jedi or destroying the Death Star or leading the Rebellion, too, so maybe it’s not such a bad comparison. And when Boba reaches out a hand to her and Han runs his hands over her like that, there isn’t a place in the whole damn galaxy she’d rather be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am having _far_ too much fun switching POVs so uhh lmk if that gets hard to read. I've tried to use line breaks and make it pretty clear what's going on but as always feedback of any sort is much appreciated :)
> 
> also thanks to everyone who's been reading this and sticking with it! y'all are the real MVPs for supporting me with my need to write Boba Fett having emotions


	7. Step Seven - Don't Desert Your Friends On A Desert Planet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a bit of a shorter chapter but at least it's finally here... right? also, he's not there in person but Lando comes back! we love to see it

It is _far_ too early for anyone to be trying to call her, and besides, it’s not like there’s anyone who wants to talk to her who isn’t already within an arm’s length away. Right?

“Leia? Leia, it’s Lando. Are you there?”

_Fuck._

She sits up sharply, wincing at the sudden pain all over her head. Boba shifts in his sleep and she freezes. If he wakes up and hears Lando’s message playing… She would be shocked if he hadn’t made the connection between Leia, the accidental bounty hunter, and Leia, the princess and Rebellion leader. If by some miracle he hasn’t, she really doesn’t need him to find out. Either way, she doesn’t need to draw attention to the fact.

As it is, Boba just pulls Han’s head in closer to his chest. Huh. Leia never took him for a snuggler, but she supposes Han must have gotten to him. It’s hard to stay stoic for long when Han decides he wants a full-body cuddle. 

Leia grabs her comm and locks the door to the small bathroom attached to their room.

“I’m here Lando. Are you alright?”

“I could be asking you the same thing,” he says. Even without a hologram display, Leia can see the look of concern on his face. “Where are you? Is Han with you?”

“He’s here,” she assures Lando. “We, ah, took a little detour.”

“Leia.”

“Fine,” she sighs. “I had to team up with an old friend to get Han out. We took his ship off Tatooine.”

“An old friend?” Lando says. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

“Boba Fett,” she says, trying and failing to conceal the hint of fond exasperation in her voice. It’s the same way she talks about Han when she’s sure there’s no way he can hear. 

“Leia!” Lando says, shocked. “You’re with Boba Fett?”

She knows he doesn’t mean it like _that_ , but she blushes anyways. When they first decided to use the older, voice-only comms, she put up a bit of a fight but now she thanks the Force that Lando can’t see her like this.

“Yeah. Get with the program,” she says, defaulting to a little snark to divert his attention. “Did you have any more trouble leaving?”

“Once we were out of the system it was home free. When do you think you’ll be back?”

“Not sure. Fett hasn’t given any sign of knowing who we are but it wouldn’t take a genius to figure it out. As soon as I get a ship we can be out of here. Force knows how long that will take, though.”

“Do you need me to come pick you up?” Lando asks. “Where exactly are you?”

“Canto Bight,” she says.

“What the hell are you doing there?”

“Look, I was stuck on Fett’s ship and needed an unsuspicious place for him to drop us off. It’s not my fault he insisted on staying.” It absolutely is her fault, but she’s not telling Lando that. “Give me another day to find a ship. We can rendez-vous with the fleet in Sector Nine once we get out.”

“About that,” Lando says. “The fleet isn’t there anymore. We’re launching a pretty major attack soon. Everyone’s moving into place for that.”

He pauses and Leia stops to make sense of this new information. There’s only one possible location for this attack. Is it really already time for that?

“Endor,” she says. “We’re finally moving on Endor?”

“I’d love to have you there with me.”

What a flirt.

“I’ll try my best,” she says. Two can play at this game. “I’d hate to let you down.”

“Let me know once you have a ship,” he says, right back to business. “I’ll send you the coordinates.”

“Thanks. And if we aren’t there in a couple days, come rescue us, alright?”

“Sure thing, Princess.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not saying there's a direct correlation between commenting and faster updates but the motivation definitely doesn't hurt! anyways I love chatting with people feel free to yell with me here about literally whatever :D huge thanks to everyone sticking with this despite my mess of an update schedule


	8. Step Eight - Spice Up Your Relationship With Some Crime

“What’s with all the armor?” Han asks. “It’s not like we haven’t seen it all already.”

“A man’s gotta work,” Boba says, pulling on his helmet. Han is tangled up in the sheets, still half asleep. At least Leia is fully awake, though, rebraiding her hair and coiling it at the nape of her neck. 

“What’s the bounty?”

“Spice trader by the name of Myn Kenau. He didn’t come through on his last shipment to the Pykes and they want him turned in. The sixty thousand credits he stole are up for grabs, though.” Boba checks his jetpack and each of his weapons. Everything is in its place, the familiar weight settling into place. “You two in?”

“Absolutely not,” Han says.

“Yes, of course,” Leia says at the same time. Han sits up in shock. 

“You can’t be serious,” he says. “It’s not worth messing with the Pykes, even for sixty thousand credits.”

“Twenty thousand,” Boba corrects. “We’ll be splitting it evenly.”

Han rolls his eyes. 

“It’s not Jabba. There’s no danger for us here.” Leia glares at Boba. Of course there will be danger, but it isn’t anything he can’t protect Han from. He understands his reluctance (carbonite does that to you) but he also knows how effective Han’s blasters are in a fight. Han wasn’t captured through any fault of his own and now, with Boba and Leia by his side? This will be easy money for the three of them. 

And with forty thousand credits between Leia and Han, it will be no problem for them to find a ship.

* * *

Han’s feeling a little left out without a helmet. Boba has his Mandalorian armor and Leia has her (stolen?) bounty hunter gear but Han is left with nothing but his vest. 

No matter. He doesn’t need a fancy getup to go hunt some spice trader. As much as he wants to avoid a future in carbonite at all costs, he’s still a little excited to be back on the chase. His adrenaline levels start to shoot up as they walk to the club where the bounty was last seen.

“I’m looking for a trader,” Boba says to the bouncer at the front door. “Rodian called Kenau?”

“He’s in the back,” the bouncer nods towards the inside of the club.

“Thanks,” Leia says, removing her blaster from his side. Han looks at her with equal parts admiration and shock, although he should really be used to it by now.

They walk into the sort of club that doesn’t care whether it’s day or night outside. The floor is pounding from the combined efforts of the bass and hundreds of sentients all moving as one. Han can smell the distinct aromas of no less than fifteen illegal drugs that he recognizes from all of his time spent smuggling. It’s a lethal combination of drugs, lights, and music that fills the club.

“Split up,” Boba says. He takes the right hand wall and Leia moves towards the left. It looks like Han’s stuck wading through the middle, then.

He moves with the beat as he makes his way through the throngs, looking for the Rodian trader. 

“No thanks,” he says to a Togruta offering him some sort of pill. 

“Are you sure?” she asks, her lekku swaying tantalizingly in front of his face. “It’ll be fun.”

“Maybe,” he says, turning on the charm. “But I doubt there’s anything that will make you more beautiful than you are now.”

A blush spreads across her lekku at that but if she says anything in response, Han doesn’t hear it. He’s already moved on, dodging a group of Twi'leks and ducking around an extremely tall Nautolan. The club is packed, even now in the midmorning. Han’s never been a fan of crowded spaces.

“You got the shipment?”

Where did that come from? Han spins around, trying to find the source of the sound.

“Pirates,” a distinctly Rodian voice says. “They snuck up on me.”

“You said your ship could outrun any pirates.”

Han finally sees the two people talking against the back wall: an angry Chiss and a Rodian that can only be Myn Kenau. Kenau is doing his best to talk his way out of a shootout. Han should know. He’s pulled the same trick too many times to count. 

“Look, give me another chance. I can get it back, but I’ll need credits for fuel.”

“You’re not getting any more credits until you get my spice.” The Chiss pulls a blaster from his hip.

“That’s enough,” Han says, stepping into the middle of them. “He’ll get your spice back.”

“Who are you?” he asks. Han can tell Kenau wants to ask the same question.

“I’m a friend,” he grins, wrapping an arm around Kenau and pulling him towards the club’s back exit. “You can trust me.”

“Can I?” Kenau asks once they’re safely away in an alley behind the building.

“Trust me?” Han says. “Absolutely not.”

By the time Kenau’s pulled his blaster, Han has already fired a shot directly into the center of his chest.

* * *

Leia meets up with Boba once they’ve finished their sweeps of the outer rim of the club.

“Do you think Han’s found anything?” she asks as they hear a blaster shot from outside.

Boba doesn’t bother to answer.

“This is him, right?” Han drags the body over to the base of the wall.

“You shot first before confirming his identity?”

Han shrugs. “He was going to shoot me.”

“It’s him,” Boba says, not wasting any time on banter. He pulls out a holo showing the bounty and compares the two. “I’ll send the Pykes the confirmation.”

Less than an hour later, a Pyke representative comes by to take the body and drop off the credits. 

“Should be enough for a ship,” Boba says as he hands Leia and Han their shares. 

Leia feels her life leave her body. He must have heard her earlier conversation with Lando. 

_Fuck._

“What is the meaning of this?” she hisses.

“I’m sorry,” he says, although he doesn’t sound apologetic. “I heard you talking this morning, that you and Han needed a ship.”

“That was a private conversation,” she says. “What are you going to do about it?”

“Get you a ship. Why, should I do more?”

Is it possible he didn’t hear anything about the Rebellion? On its own, she supposes the conversation wasn’t too incriminating. Of course she would be looking for a ship. That makes sense. Still, she has to find out exactly how much Boba knows.

“How much did you hear?”

“Enough.”

“Take off that damn helmet,” she says. “Enough to know what?”

He complies, looking directly into her eyes. “Enough to know that you’re with the Rebellion and that you’re planning an assault on Endor.”

Well, that’s just peachy.

“Let us go and no one has to get hurt,” she says. “Just keep your mouth shut for a few more days.”

“Or what?” Boba asks. He’s not that tall but he still towers over her, cutting an imposing armor-clad figure. Leia had almost forgotten that he was a warrior first and foremost, a weapon in human form.

“You may as well shoot us now,” Han says. He had been uncharacteristically silent during the entire exchange. Now, though, Leia sees his face become deadly serious as he moves to stand beside her.

“No.”

“Come on, get it over with and move on,” he challenges. Despite the bravado, Leia can hear the fear underneath his bold words.

“No,” Boba says. “I will not shoot you.”

“So you’re going to wait to gun us down as we leave the system? Is it easier when you can’t see our faces?”

“I’m not going to kill you! I’ve already turned you in to the Empire once before and I regret it. I won’t make that mistake twice.”

“You mean it?” Leia tries to say it with confidence but the statement turns into a question.

“I do,” Boba says. She feels Han relax next to her. 

“Alright then,” she says. “I suppose this is it.”

She holds out her hand. As far as endings go, a handshake isn’t bad. Boba grips her forearm and pulls her in, pressing their foreheads together. She breathes him in one last time and lets go.

Leia grabs Han’s hand and walks away, not bothering to look back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one more chapter!!! y'all we are _so_ close to the end


	9. Step Nine - What's Right Isn't Always Easy (But Loving You Is Both)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we made it! thank you so much to everyone who took a chance on this story - I appreciate you all more than words can say :)

“We’ve got a bogey, General.”

“What is it, Captain?” Leia walks over to the screen to see more closely. After the victory on Endor and Luke’s defeat of the Emperor and Vader (her father? she’s going to have to deal with that bombshell later), most of the Imperials went running. They’ve still had to fend off a few diehard supporters trying to take down the new Republic.

“It’s just a single ship,” the captain shakes her head in confusion. “They’re trying to signal us.”

“Put it through,” Leia says. If it’s an Imperial, well, the guns will already be trained on them. More likely, it’s a refugee ship of some kind. People have been flocking to the new home of the Republic from all over. Everyone wants a chance to meet the heroes of the Galaxy. Leia’s no stranger to being in the public eye, but it’s still exhausting to greet every newcomer personally, especially when she has a Republic to run. Hopefully the sight of her on their holo will be enough.

“This is General Leia Organa,” she says. “Welcome to the Republic.”

“General? Impressive.”

“No,” she staggers back. The holo flickers into a solid image on her end. Leia can’t believe her eyes. “Is it really you?”

“Don’t tell me your powers of observation have failed you now,” Boba Fett says. “Do you mind pointing those guns somewhere else?”

“Where have you been?” she asks. “Why should I trust you?”

“Why should you stop now?”

He’s smirking beneath the helmet—Leia just knows it. That cocky bastard. She really does have a type, huh?

She sighs. “Let him land,” she tells the captain.

* * *

Leia doesn’t run to the landing bay. Even when she sees Boba’s ship (he’s finally gotten it fixed up and given it a new paint job), she maintains her steady course towards him. The ramp lowers and she still doesn’t run.

Boba doesn’t run either. He _flies_ , his jetpack firing to life as he shoots across the bay and wraps her up in his arms. Her feet lift off the ground and a grin fills her face as he twirls her around in the air. 

They finally float back down and Boba rests his helmet against Leia’s forehead. 

“Am I still welcome?” he asks, his low voice sending shivers down her spine.

“Take off that helmet and kiss me already,” she says. 

“Is that an order, General?”

Leia shakes her head. “You’re impossible.”

Boba just laughs and when he takes off his helmet, Leia’s right there to meet him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> at the time of Boba's arrival, Han was out on patrol with Luke. he was initially annoyed that he missed Boba's grand entrance, but Boba and Leia more than made it up to him later. 
> 
> and no, Luke hasn't stopped teasing him about it.


End file.
